What Do You Do If Your House Is a Zoo?

by John Kelly, Steph Laberis (Illustrator)

Oscar is SO excited, because his parents have finally said he can have a pet! But he doesn't have any idea what kind to get. So he puts an ad in the newspaper in the hopes that the perfect pet will come to live with him. But soon, too many animals show up at his house, and it's CHAOS!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. This is John^^^Kelly.

John Kelly is an illustrator, writer and designer who has worked for Scholastic, Macmillan, Hodder, Simon & Schuster, Aardman animation, Lucasfilm, Radar pictures and many others. He has been shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway prize twice (Guess Who's Coming For Dinner and Scoop!). The Beastly Pirates is his first picture book for Bloomsbury.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I'm not a fan of the artwork since the pages are too busy for my tired eyes, I did like the story and found it surprising. Judging from the title, I was expecting something entirely different. Like many youngsters, Oscar is eager to have a pet of his own, and when his parents finally agree, he takes out a classified ad looking for the right pet. The responses from eager animals come pouring in, and before he knows it, Oscar's house and neighborhood are filled with would-be animal companions. Young readers will surely chortle at the mayhem caused by all those animals, including a whale, a gorilla, beavers, and even a monkey. But none of these possible friends pays attention to Oscar so he knows they wouldn't be the right choice. After banishing them from the premises, he opens one more missive, and finds the right match--Rufus, a three-legged dog who claims to answer to various other insulting names but also vows to be Oscar's BFF. Clearly, this is a match made in Heaven, and the last two pages attest to the truth of that fact. AWW! Young readers might enjoy reading this and thinking about what they want from a friend or from a pet as well as considering that being without a leg doesn't seem to hinder this dog from going at life full tilt.

[Nick Swarbrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story about choosing a pet - where the choices get out of hand! It’s not Dear Zoo - but that’s a book that’s hard to top.

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet spin on picking a pet-animal story.

Once Oscar receives his parents' permission to have a pet, he takes out an ad in the local newspaper. He is discombobulated when he receives a dozen or more replies from various animals wanting a home, and even more bewildered when they begin appearing at his house and taking it over and ignoring Oscar in the process. His mother reaches a breaking point and makes all of the animals leave. At that point, Oscar realized he wanted a pet that wanted him. That's when he decides what animal to adopt.

Kelly's text is clever and fun-spirited. The personalities of each animal comes out in their letters. The pacing of the story is just right. Digital illustrations by Steph Laberis help lift this above the average "want a pet" story. The fact that Oscar lives in a biracial home is a bonus alone. The emotions on the faces of the family and the antics of the animals are a riot. Laberis' experience in character design is evident.

Include this in a pet storytime or hand it to a family looking to adopt a pet. They will especially appreciate it.

Recommended for PreSchool-grade 3

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Do You Do if Your House is a Zoo? by John Kelly, illustrated by Steph Laberis. PICTURE BOOK. Tiger Tales, 2018. $17. 978168010118

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Oscar couldn’t decide what pet to get when his parents finally said he could have one, so he put an ad in the paper asking for replies from the pets that think they would be a good fit. He gets replies from a goat, a cat, a whale and more and then they just start showing up. Things get pretty wild and Oscar has to ask them all to leave. Finally he finds one last letter from a dog that is his perfect fit.

The illustrations in this book are bright and engaging. There are a lot of extra text elements along with the story that keep it interesting, but hard to read aloud. These include his newspaper ad and all the letters Oscar gets in response. Also of note is that the parents in this book are interracial.

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pet story. Haven't we read many and written some about which ones are the best? Well, this one is about figuring out what to get, writing ads, and reading the replies. Lots of different kinds of notes, letters, and mail come to the house and animals invade. Silly and colorful story with so many forms of communication sent to the boy. And the resolution at the end is the best ending for a story like this with action, forms of communication, and disasters. The comic fun is so much fun in the illustrations to look at and read.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Oscar wants a pet but doesn't know what to get. So he puts an advertisement in the paper, and pretty soon, all sorts of animals start showing up and causing mischief around the house - from the meerkats who set up a security post in the yard so mom can't leave for work, to the beavers who build a backyard water park, and even a space monkey with a rocket. But none of these pets seem that interested in playing with Oscar. It's a funny book.

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story and illustrations. Miss 4 liked all the silly letters from the animals which we could read as well as the story text.

Miss 4 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

[Madison LibraryBookFamily · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a boy places an advertisement in the local paper for a new pet he receives all types of replies. His home quickly becomes overwhelmed with animals of all shapes and sizes.

Perfect for teaching letter writing, this book showcases persuasive letter from various animals. Love the animal quirks displayed and the silly situations.

[Tatiana Gomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Livro divertido, fala dos animais, tema com o qual as crianças têm sempre grande afinidade o que facilita o interesse pela história. Não deixa de ser algo informativo, mostrando uma panóplia de animais e as suas necessidades, mas reforça no final a importância do afeto e do cuidar. Livro bom para ações de promoção da leitura junto dos mais pequenos (6-7). A ilustração é apelativa.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the "cartoon animation" look of the illustrations in this boom. I do admit that the letter page was very busy. The overall story was cute and I loved the ending.

Like Rufus, my puppy Baymax, picked us to be his family so that message resonates deeply.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Familiar but rollickingly enjoyable story of a boy searching for the perfect pet.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A preschool and up book where a boy advertises for a pet and various ones start to show up without his asking. Sweet ending

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather tame story, with little to interest tiny readers other than daddy doing different voices for all the animals.

[Razeen AbdulHannan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made my little one and me giggle! Fun illustrations and silly story line captured our attention. I love that they have an interracial family!

[Barbara Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for when kids are picking a pet

[Addie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, 16 month old giggled and enjoyed the art, but we had to take a few breaks because of the length.

[Launna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but silly.

[Abbi Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story! Especially if you give all the animals different voices.

[Nanny B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book about picking a pet.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so much! It's heartwarming and has lots of wonderfully colorful illustrations.

[Hannah Beecrofh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story follows a young boy who has been allowed by his parents to get a pet. This is a funny tale that explores a number of different grammatical techniques within the text. It could be used with children to explore many different types of texts within the classroom. They would be able to use it to highlight persuasive writing techniques and formal writing techniques through the use of letters. The author and illustrator have done an excellent job to showcase the different animals through the typography of the story and the images used. They have enabled the reader to make links to previous knowledge about different animals and have included these when creating the different letters. The only downfall with this story is that younger children may find it quite difficult to read as some of the font is quite small in order to fit it onto the letter frames and some of the fonts may be tricky to read for example those using cursive writing. This story would ideally be suitable for KS1 and lower KS2.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This certainly isn’t the first book where animals overrun a house at the dismay of the humans. But John and Steph managed to make the idea fresh and funny! When Oscar’s parents give him the ok to get a pet, he places an as in the newspaper classifieds. Soon letters start arriving from animals across the world and beyond, pitching why they’d be the perfect pet. Before Oscar can make a choice, the animals show up at his door and make themselves at home. All try to be helpful but none seems to be interested in playing with Oscar. When Oscar finds a letter from a bad boy he may just have found a good fit for their family. Highly recommended for a Storytime featuring adoptable pets from a local shelter or rescue.

[Norkett · Rating 3 out of 5]

It gave us a few laughs and an ending we loved.

[Miss Janis the Storytime Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

funny, but long. 02/28/19 Thu 03/01/19 Outreach